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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29145897">i would not ask (and neither would you)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_static_world/pseuds/a_static_world'>a_static_world</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Domesticity, Established Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), POV Merlin (Merlin), hrgh, literally so saccharine sweet, merlin is more than just magic and he deserves to know it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:35:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29145897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_static_world/pseuds/a_static_world</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You couldn’t keep a secret if you tried, Merlin.”<br/>“Oh, you have no idea.”<br/><em>Fuck fuck fuck fuck why did you say that-</em><br/>“And what is that supposed to mean?”<br/>“Um, nothing!”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>merlin fics i read and haven't been the same since</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i would not ask (and neither would you)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You couldn’t keep a secret if you tried, Merlin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck fuck fuck fuck why did you say that-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what is that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, nothing!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gods, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> let this be one of the nights Arthur is feeling generous enough (or tired enough) to allow his fuck-ups to slide. Merlin feels as though he’s fucked up quite badly, though; Arthur still looks intrigued, but hopefully he can change the subject and it’ll have waned by the time they go to sleep. Merlin turns, busying himself with folding Arthur’s chronically unfolded shirts and definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> avoiding confrontation, thank you very much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Merlin-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mer</span>
  </em>
  <span>lin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fuck, he is in so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> trouble. Arthur, when he chooses to be, is the most obstinate and stubborn ass on the planet. Once he’s latched onto something, he’ll see it through, consequences be damned. Only in this situation, the consequence is Merlin’s life. Thankfully, Uther’s rotting in hell and Arthur is king, which means the probability of his death being imminent is slightly lower. That, paired with the fact that they’ve been dating for nearly a year, doesn’t help the feeling that his chest is fit to burst with how much he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell Arthur. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some mental tether somewhere snaps, and Merlin turns around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m- I’m a sorcerer. I have magic. I only use it for you, Arthur, please. It’s my destiny.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin only hopes Gaius and Hunith don’t kill him before Arthur does. He can’t meet the king’s eyes, face pointed resolutely to the floor as his fingernails dig into the flesh of his palms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin’s head snaps up of its own accord. He can’t have heard right. Though he doesn’t quite know how</span>
  <em>
    <span> how could you</span>
  </em>
  <span> or </span>
  <em>
    <span>guards!</span>
  </em>
  <span> could be transposed into “okay,” anything’s possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay? You’re not going to, y’know, kill me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like he does when a council member is being exceedingly stupid, exceedingly tedious, or both. Merlin doesn’t appreciate the fact that it’s directed at him, much less the fact that his life still vaguely hangs in the balance. It’s probably a good sign that Arthur seems more irritated than, you know, stabby. Much as Merlin loves the man, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and if he wanted Merlin dead, there’d be three feet of sharpened steel at his throat faster than he could blink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Merlin, I’m not going to kill you, so stop looking like a startled stoat about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin relaxes slightly, trying to arrange his face into something less, erm, stoat-ish. It clearly doesn’t work, because Arthur sighs again, taking Merlin’s hand in his and sweeping his thumb across the back in a way that </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t send a shiver down his spine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’m not my father-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I never slept with your father.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah, there it is, Arthur’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>please-shut-up-I’m-trying-to-emote</span>
  </em>
  <span> expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin shuts up. Arthur scrubs a hand over his face, and Merlin can practically see the cogs turning as he figures out what he wants to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, you have magic? Okay. I’m not going to say it’s not a surprise, because clearly I didn’t know. But it doesn’t make you any less...</span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You’re still my Merlin, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course,” but he must be making a face because Arthur pulls him closer, uses his free hand to tip Merlin’s chin up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Merlin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you are a person</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Regardless of whether or not you’re a sorcerer. That doesn’t matter to me; I’m only sorry you didn’t tell me sooner. You do- you do understand that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fuck, are those </span>
  <em>
    <span>tears? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He can’t wipe them without giving himself away, so Merlin just breathes in and hopes that the prickling sensation will leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s my </span>
  <em>
    <span>destiny</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” and it comes out sounding much more like a petulant toddler than he would’ve liked, emotions be damned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur laughs, wrapping his arms around Merlin and pulling back slightly to look him in the eyes. Merlin’s too busy blinking tears back to meet them, but the king doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Merlin. I love you. You are a </span>
  <em>
    <span>person</span>
  </em>
  <span>, first and foremost. Your worth isn’t based on some fucked-up idea of destiny, or on the fact that you happen to have magic. Merlin, you’re the best man I’ve ever met. You’re kind to children and the poor, you help other castle staff every spare moment you have. You have a backlog of medical knowledge that’s frankly astonishing, you like daisies and rosemary but not primroses or violets, and you refuse to eat blackberry jam even when Gwen makes it, and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> saying no to Gwen. You and Gwaine are jointly banned from eight different counties </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Camelot, your hair gets curly when it’s long, and your hands do-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay! I understand!” Merlin feels himself go hot, clapping a hand over Arthur’s mouth. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>licks</span>
  </em>
  <span> it, the childish bastard, and Merlin scowls as he wipes the moisture on Arthur’s shirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My point is, </span>
  <em>
    <span>beloved</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that destiny is going to happen whether you want it to or not. You may as well spend your days happy, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin is definitely, embarrassingly crying now, the fucking Lake of Avalon leaking from his eyes. Arthur’s not normally this openly... </span>
  <em>
    <span>open,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and though Merlin knows he cares deeply, it’s different to hear it spoken aloud. And, well, he’s never felt as if he had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>choice</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His destiny was - is, he supposes - to be the greatest sorcerer to walk the earth, and to help Arthur move Camelot into its Golden Age. Nobody’s ever told him he still gets to be a person, within that. He wipes his eyes with a watery chuckle, brushing damp fingers against Arthur’s cheek just to watch his face scrunch up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The anchor to my rope, eh, Your Majesty?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arthur grins, wrapping his arm tighter around Merlin’s waist and pressing their noses together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More like the anchor to the whole damn ship, O Great and Destined Sorcerer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Merlin laughs out loud, giving Arthur a quick kiss before pulling out of his embrace and going to flop on their bed. Arthur’s familiar weight settles beside him, and Merlin scooches across the bed until they’re touching, humming happily as Arthur slings an arm across his back. He’s asleep in five minutes, completely regardless of the fact that he’s still dressed, circlet and everything. Merlin </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> wake him so he can at least strip, but he’s still kind of reeling from the past fifteen minutes, so. He’ll wait until Arthur chucks the thing off in the middle of the night, grumble as it clatters across the stone floors. Gods, the thought of it - the </span>
  <em>
    <span>predictability</span>
  </em>
  <span> of it - makes his teeth hurt with how fucking domestic it is. For the first time in his life, Merlin feels safe. Arthur was right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Destiny can go fuck itself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He has everything he needs. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i can hear bradley james saying beloved so clearly in my head. why god. why me. <br/>anywaaay i've got. many things in my wips! so depending on how free i am ... things may get posted.....<br/>this is based off of <a href="https://nextstopparis.tumblr.com/post/641265078356869120/can-someone-pls-tell-merlin-that-hes-a-person">this post</a> which dealt me 50 psychic damage the moment i read it, so. of course i wrote it!<br/>come find me on <a href="https://astaticworld.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> for nonsense and fun posts like "what if jaskier knew how to knit?" that may end up teaching you about local fishermen's knitting patterns<br/>there is still a pandemic in most places so for the love of fuck wear a mask! call a loved one! take care of yourself!<br/>xoxo static</p></blockquote></div></div>
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